1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an innovative cushioned hinge for furniture, which is for example adapted to prevent a furniture door from knocking against the frame with violence on closure.
2. State of the Prior Art
Manufacture of hinges provided with a shock absorber is known in the art, said shock absorber being designed to act between a hinge wing to be fastened to the furniture frame and a bowl-shaped element of the hinge, to be fastened to a suitable cavity in the furniture door.
There are several different shock absorbers, of the hydraulic or pneumatic type for example, and they are provided with a fixed body on which a movable shock absorbing member is mounted which is adapted to restrain the closing movement of the hinge.
According to one embodiment of the known art, the shock absorber body is fastened to the bowl-shaped element of the hinge and the shock absorbing member is such disposed as to come into contact with the wing during a closing step of the hinge to restrain a too quick and sudden movement of the door.
However, this solution has proved to be of reduced efficiency since the shock absorber, taking into account the arrangement and sizes of the common hinge pieces, is to be positioned and sized in a disadvantageous manner that does not allow a satisfactory cushioning or damping action to be developed between the hinge parts.
According to a further embodiment of the known art, as described in the European patent EP 1199433, the shock absorber body is directly mounted on the hinge wing so that it is parallel to the wing extension, the shock absorbing member being slideable in parallel to the wing.
While this arrangement of the shock absorber enables a better damping action to be achieved, it still has some non negligible disadvantages.
Actually, since the shock absorber is directly applied to the outside of the wing, it has a fitting point in the hinge that is easily accessible. In case of snap-fitting of the shock absorber in the wing, it may happen that the component unintentionally disengages from the hinge, during the furniture cleaning operations, for example.
In addition, when the hinge is of the adjustable type, the wing being fastened in an adjustable manner to an intermediate element snap-fitted into a hinge base to be fastened to the furniture frame, there is the risk of the intermediate element disengaging from the base giving rise to danger situations and possibly causing damages to the furniture structure. Actually, these adjustable hinges generally have an element for carrying out disengagement of the intermediate element that is easily accessible and can be unintentionally moved causing separation of the door from the frame and generating danger situations.
The present invention generally aims at eliminating the above mentioned drawbacks by providing a cushioned hinge capable of developing a satisfactory damping force on closure of the hinge and at the same time enabling a steady and safe mounting of the shock absorber to be obtained. It is a further aim of the invention to provide a cushioned hinge capable of being adjusted and enabling a high safety and reliability degree as regards mounting of its parts on the frame and the furniture door to be achieved.